Study on miscibility, thermal properties, degradation behaviors, and toughening mechanism of poly(lactic acid)/poly (ethylene-butylacrylate-glycidyl methacrylate) blends

In the work, the poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/poly (ethylene-butylacrylate-glycidyl methacrylate) (Film blends were prepared by melt compounding. NW as a toughening agent for PIA, the PLA/PTW blends had good compatibility due to the chemical reaction between the epoxy groups of PTW and the end group of PLA during the blending process. With increasing PTW content from 0 to 20%, the impact strength of PLA/PTW blends was enhanced from 4.6 to 54.1 kJ/m(2) and the elongation at break was increased from 5.6% to 270%. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of the impact fracture surfaces showed a large amount of cavities and plastic deformation, which caused by the elastomer and the interfacial adhesion enhanced through the interaction of the terminal functional groups. That was the reason that the toughness of PLA was increased. Finally, proteinase K-catalyzed degradation tests shown that the addition of PTW was beneficial to the biodegradation of PIA and reduced environmental pollution. (C) 2019 Published by Elsevier B.V.